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A New team enters the GT2
2008 CR Scuderia launches at the Autosport Show

The wraps came off the CR Scuderia racing cars at Autosport International today, revealing a striking red, white and blue livery that carries across the team’s entries in the FIA GT, British GT and Formula Renault UK Championships.

ITV’s Ted Kravitz was on hand to introduce CRS Team Principal, Chris Niarchos, who revealed that the team had secured an exciting multi-year sponsorship deal with BSkyB (Sky). This sponsorship will support the Sky brand across its TV, broadband and home telephony services.

“We are extremely excited about our sponsorship of CR Scuderia,” said William Mellis, Director of Customer Acquisition, BSkyB. “This platform provides us with an opportunity to support the Sky brand as it continues to innovate in home entertainment services and, following the launch of Sky Broadband and Sky Talk, also becomes a leader in great value home communications.”

CR Scuderia is also delighted to have secured commercial partnerships with companies including Grand Prix Racewear (GPR), Alpinestars, Giorgio, Fast Wax, Creative Print Group, Performance Friction, PPG and Autosmart.

“From day one I have said it is vitally important for us to enter our first year of racing on a solid commercial footing,” said CRS Team Principal, Chris Niarchos. “We are proud to run the Sky brand across our three race programmes and believe that this partnership will provide many opportunities for the team and for Sky in the coming years. We are equally delighted to have forged new relationships with some fantastic commercial partners and look forward to getting out on track and making them proud to be a part of this team.”
CR Scuderia will run two Ferrari 430s in the GT2 class of the FIA GT Championship in 2008; one car for Andrew Kirkaldy and Rob Bell and one for Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen. The FIA GT Championship is an ambitious target for a team in its first year of competition but CRS has four drivers who are all proven winners at that level of racing.

The team will also run a domestic programme in the British GT Championship, which is familiar territory for CR Scuderia. Niarchos, Kirkaldy and Mullen have all been British GT Champions in recent years and most of the CRS team members have worked as part of a winning team in that category. In 2008 the competition will be tough, especially between the Ferrari runners, so CRS plans to field a team of exceptional drivers in British GT. That team of drivers will be announced in due course.

Like the 1/24 teams our big brothers in the FIA GT are hard at work preparing their cars for the new season. Gert Klinge has collected the latest "family" gossip:
Giga Motorsports joins the family with Astons in both GT1 and GT2 and a Saleen returns to the FIA GT



GT2 Aston Martin joins GT1 racer
January 2008 - Gigawave MotorSport adds second car to FIA GT Championship team

An Aston Martin Vantage GT2 car has been added to Gigawave MotorSport’s line-up for the 2008 FIA GT Championship. This follows the announcement that the new, UK-based team will be racing an Aston Martin DBR9 in the GT1 class.
The Gigawave MotorSport Vantage GT2 will be the only Aston Martin in the Championship’s GT2 category.
The decision to race a second Aston Martin shows just how determined Gigawave MotorSport is to succeed, and the huge potential the team sees in the future of the FIA GT Championship.
The team is in the process of finalising its drivers for the GT2 entry and an announcement will be made shortly.
January 2008 - Gigawave MotorSport to debut with Aston Martin Racing in 2008 FIA GT Championship
Only British Team in GT1 Class


Gigawave MotorSport will be flying the flag for Britain in this season’s FIA GT Championship, as the only UK-based team in the GT1 class.
Led by Team Manager Steve Hagger, Gigawave MotorSport will prepare and race an Aston Martin DBR9 from its headquarters in Essex, entering the full 10-race international Championship, which starts at Silverstone on 20th April.

Current Australian GT Champion Allan Simonsen joins Austrian star Philipp Peter behind the wheel of the DBR9, an experienced line-up demonstrating the new team’s determination to succeed in this, Gigawave MotorSport’s debut season.

After a ‘shakedown’ race at Zolder, in the last round of 2007, a busy pre-season testing period is now planned for the new team, prior to the start of the 2008 Championship.

Team Manager Steve Hagger is expecting big things for 2008. “The team and drivers will be pushing very hard for podium finishes. This will be an exciting first season for Gigawave MotorSport in conjunction with Aston Martin Racing.”





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A Saleen for PK Carsport in 2008 !
Team PK Carsport and drivers Anthony Kumpen and Bert Longin, after a successful campaign in 2007 with a Corvette C5R, claiming numerous podiums in the FIA GT Championship, is moving over to a Saleen S7R for 2008 ! “Little will remain the same”, explained Anthony Kumpen. “But our goal remains the same and that’s winning. One thing will return and that’s the United4Belgium project. People liked it very much and we’ll continue to race as a real Belgian team!”





PK Carsport as a team will focus on the FIA GT Championship”, continues Bert Longin. “We’re still a little team compared to the big guns and running two entire series is not ideal. We decided to continue with PK Carsport in FIA GT, while in Belcar Anthony and I will race a car from another team. We have a group of very experienced and motivated people and they’ll now have the time to perform even better, by concentrating on one series.”

The new weapon of PK Carsport in FIA GT will be the American Saleen S7R. The car is the one entered by Zakspeed in 2006, when the German team won two races and conquered pole position on four occasions with this chassis. “Of course the car will get all necessary and possible updates before the start of the season”, says Anthony Kumpen. “The Saleen is a highly competitive car and we’re convinced that we’ll be successful. Let’s not forget that Saleen won last’s year LMS GT1 championship and winning a long distance championship such as the LMS requires both speed and reliability.”

In order to prepare for the season in the best conditions, PK Carsport will start pre-season testing in February. "Indeed, the car is new for all of us and we’ll need the extra time and kilometres. Getting used to a new car is not as easy as continuing with a car you’re familiar with,” Kumpen explained.

An important factor in the 2008 season will be the partnership with the Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli. “The collaboration with Pirelli gives us the opportunity to test a lot. Of course we know each other from the past and both parties are happy with this renewed collaboration”, says Longin.
Pier-Luigi Decancellis of Pirelli agrees on this: “We had very good experience in the past both with the team and the car. Don’t forget that we already worked with Saleen too. We supplied tires to Vitaphone in the past and some American teams also ran on Pirelli. We’re pretty happy with this program, which might be the only Pirelli one in GT1 in the FIA GT championship.”
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